Morikawa’s approach to success remains the same

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COVER PHOTO: Collin Morikawa talks with coach Rick Sessinghaus during Wednesday's pro-am round at the 49th annual Memorial Tournament. Picture by Nicole McCray/Columbus Wired.

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Six-time PGA Tour winner Collin Morikawa made a push on Saturday to be a legitimate contender for the 49th annual Memorial Tournament trophy after going bogey-free with a 4-under par, 68.

“Really steady, really solid,” he said after the round. “I hit it where I needed to, took advantage of the ones I did hit close, made a few putts and came out bogey-free, which I’m really, really happy.”

It’s a position the world’s No. 8 golfer is familiar with, though.

The five-time Memorial participant nearly won the trophy in 2021 but lost in a playoff to Patrick Cantlay.

Then came last year when he was once again in position after three rounds only two strokes off the lead at 4-under. However, back spasms made him withdraw before the start of the final round and he attributed it to workouts he had done prior to the tournament.

“It was warming up in the gym, this one movement we did,” he said. “(It’s) something that I’ve kind of, we’ve all taken care of, so I know what to do, what not to do (and) what to watch and go on from there.”

Fast forward a year later and history is nearly repeating itself as Morikawa once again finds himself in a top five position. Although, the separation is a tad bit more between him and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who sits atop the leaderboard at 10-under.

“I’ve got to go out and put out a round (tomorrow) like I did today. Scottie’s not really coming backwards and I’ve got to play some steady golf (although) that doesn’t mean I have to press,” he said.

Aside from different approaches in his workout, Morikawa said he really hasn’t done anything different this weekend than he’s done all year to be in the position that he’s currently in.

“To be honest, I’ve just kind of continued what I’ve been doing,” he said. “I think I’ve played a little messier this week than I have, say at Colonial and at the PGA (Championship). I’ve made too many mistakes but I’ve also been able to rebound from that and not get away from myself.”

The two-time Major winner finished tied-for fourth place at the PGA Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kent. on May 19 and followed it up the next weekend with another fourth place finish in the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Tex.

He started his third round at the Muirfield Village Golf Club with three straight pars then birdied par-3, No. 4 after knocking down a 16-foot putt above the hole. He would par the remaining holes for the front nine.

The back nine started with two more pars with his second birdie coming on par-3, No. 12 when his tee shot landed just slightly below the pin and over nine feet to the left. His putt caught the left part of the hole and circled in from there.

Two more birdies would follow on par-4, No. 14 and par-5, No. 15, the latter of which included his third shot from the left, greenside bunker that landed about 15 feet from the cup and came to a stop four feet past the hole.

He parred the remaining three holes to stay bogey-free and said he’s trying not to concentrate too much with the logistics of the game.

“You can get so caught up in numbers and this makes sense, this doesn’t make sense. But if you can’t feel the shot, it doesn’t matter (because) you’re never going to execute that great shot a handful of times.”

Morikawa ultimately said sorting out the game in his mind is what will give him the best result.

“If I shoot 4-under tomorrow, I think I’m going to be pretty happy. But you just kind of play it through the ear, start off on hole one, have a game plan and see how many shots you can execute on a Sunday when you’re roughly within a handful of shots.”

Morikawa has been paired with Scheffler for Sunday’s final round.